*IMPORTANT Additional Information & Corrections:* As many of you know, I shoot these videos in one take with no do-overs. So, sometimes they contain errors or omissions. You can always find any corrections in the video descriptions beneath my videos, or pinned comments like this one. At 3:40 my list of supplies should have included the recommended bolt size of 5/16 - 3/8" (M7 - M8) as well as some sort of hack saw blade or cutoff wheel to later cut the bolt to length at 16:20 in the video. At 8:00 I mention using a chisel to remove the rivets. You could just as easily, if not more easily, drill out the rivets from the back side of the plate. An 1/8" (3mm, or #30) drill bit would be perfect for this application. A few seconds of drilling and the rivet would fall out of the other side of the plate. Not sure why that slipped my mind prior to filming. At 14:00 I mention the bolt edges potentially riding along the inside of the discs when you adjust your weights. That all depends on the position of your bolt and the size of the bolt head versus the 18mm distance mentioned earlier in the video. Ideally, if your bolt head is positioned at 17-18mm as recommended, it will clear the disc ever-so-slightly and never touch it while the dumbbell is in its base. It will only come into contact with the disc when the dumbbell is lifted from the base and in use with that weight selected. At 6:10 I did not mention that the other important dimension is the thickness of the bolt head. You want the finished bolt head to be between 3 and 4mm thick. Under 3mm thick and you risk a plate slipping past the disc lip. Over 4mm and the hexagonal face of the bolt will likely come into contact with the disc such that your dial becomes difficult to rotate. So, as you're filing down the bolt's face, be sure to keep that in mind.
Average Joe ain't so average! I just recieved my disc kit for my 17 year old Nautilus 552s (1 disc cracked when the weight fill over with 30lbs of weight. Joe is super friendly, knowledgeable and patient. Order took like 2 days to arrive at my doorstep. I highly recommend utilizing his operation for your replacement/upgrades. Parts fit like a glove.. watch his instructional videos, he'll walk you right into the End Zone 🏈⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Awesome! I'm glad you found my video too. In the immortal words of the A-Team's Hannibal: ua-cam.com/video/NsUFBm1uENs/v-deo.html I love it when a plan comes together.
Hi hi, thank you for reaching out to me. Generally, depending on the order volume any given week, you can expect to see an invoice within 1-2 business days of placing your order, or an email from me if I have questions about your order. If you've placed an order more than 2 days ago, the invoice was likely sent but either ended up in your spam folder or undelivered. Please shoot me an email at joe@averagejoeinnovations.com with your name so that I may look up your order for you and resend it if necessary. Cheers, Joe
How about a 1/4 inch bolt instead of 5/16? My hardware store has the 1/4 weld nuts (they call them rectangular tee nuts) and the 1/4 head seems closer in thickness and diameter to the original tab. Any reason that won’t work?
Hiya, LR. Great question. Yes, you can use other bolt sizes so long as the end result meets 3 dimensional criteria: *1. Distance* - the bottom flat face of the bolt head should be positioned in the 17-18mm range that I mention in the video. Too little and your weight plates will feel very loose in the handle. Too much and you will not be able to turn your dials. *2. Width* - the bolt head should be no more than 12mm wide (slightly under 1/2"). It needs to slip down between the tabs on the discs as you place your handle into the base and pull it out. *3. Thickness* - the total height of the bolt from the surface of the weight plate should be no more than 4-4.5mm (slightly under 3/16". So 11/64" is plenty). Too much and you will not be able to turn your dials. Too little (say, 2-3mm) and you risk the plates not being held securely in the handle. I can't recall if I tested 1/4" bolts back a couple years ago when I made the original tab fix video. Dimensionally, they should work for #2 and 3 above. I'm not sure if they'd work for #1 if centered on the original rivet hole. That's something you'd have to try. I vaguely recall selecting the larger bolt size for 2 reasons. First, and most importantly, was that its head dimensions satisfied #1. Second, was that I could always grind/trim the head back if needed to satisfy #2 and 3. In this more recent version of the fix, above, I'd definitely recommend the larger bolt since I remove material from all of its faces to clean it up. Strength-wise, 1/4" bolts would be plenty. In fact, they're all overkill compared to the forces these dumbbells experience. We'd likely destroy other parts of the dumbbell before our DIY bolt tabs would fail. Would love to hear how your project turns out, especially if you go with 1/4" so that folks know they have other options. Cheers, Joe
*IMPORTANT Additional Information & Corrections:* As many of you know, I shoot these videos in one take with no do-overs. So, sometimes they contain errors or omissions. You can always find any corrections in the video descriptions beneath my videos, or pinned comments like this one.
At 3:40 my list of supplies should have included the recommended bolt size of 5/16 - 3/8" (M7 - M8) as well as some sort of hack saw blade or cutoff wheel to later cut the bolt to length at 16:20 in the video.
At 8:00 I mention using a chisel to remove the rivets. You could just as easily, if not more easily, drill out the rivets from the back side of the plate. An 1/8" (3mm, or #30) drill bit would be perfect for this application. A few seconds of drilling and the rivet would fall out of the other side of the plate. Not sure why that slipped my mind prior to filming.
At 14:00 I mention the bolt edges potentially riding along the inside of the discs when you adjust your weights. That all depends on the position of your bolt and the size of the bolt head versus the 18mm distance mentioned earlier in the video. Ideally, if your bolt head is positioned at 17-18mm as recommended, it will clear the disc ever-so-slightly and never touch it while the dumbbell is in its base. It will only come into contact with the disc when the dumbbell is lifted from the base and in use with that weight selected.
At 6:10 I did not mention that the other important dimension is the thickness of the bolt head. You want the finished bolt head to be between 3 and 4mm thick. Under 3mm thick and you risk a plate slipping past the disc lip. Over 4mm and the hexagonal face of the bolt will likely come into contact with the disc such that your dial becomes difficult to rotate. So, as you're filing down the bolt's face, be sure to keep that in mind.
Average Joe ain't so average! I just recieved my disc kit for my 17 year old Nautilus 552s (1 disc cracked when the weight fill over with 30lbs of weight. Joe is super friendly, knowledgeable and patient. Order took like 2 days to arrive at my doorstep. I highly recommend utilizing his operation for your replacement/upgrades. Parts fit like a glove.. watch his instructional videos, he'll walk you right into the End Zone 🏈⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
AJI Legend. 🎉
literally just bought a used set today with 3 broken tabs and you post this yesterday, what great timing! thank you!!!
Awesome! I'm glad you found my video too. In the immortal words of the A-Team's Hannibal:
ua-cam.com/video/NsUFBm1uENs/v-deo.html
I love it when a plan comes together.
@danieloconnor9266 Did it end up working or how’d it go?
I tried to purchase parts from the website and I am waiting for a reply. How long am I expected to wait ?
Hi hi, thank you for reaching out to me. Generally, depending on the order volume any given week, you can expect to see an invoice within 1-2 business days of placing your order, or an email from me if I have questions about your order. If you've placed an order more than 2 days ago, the invoice was likely sent but either ended up in your spam folder or undelivered. Please shoot me an email at joe@averagejoeinnovations.com with your name so that I may look up your order for you and resend it if necessary. Cheers, Joe
How about a 1/4 inch bolt instead of 5/16? My hardware store has the 1/4 weld nuts (they call them rectangular tee nuts) and the 1/4 head seems closer in thickness and diameter to the original tab. Any reason that won’t work?
Hiya, LR. Great question. Yes, you can use other bolt sizes so long as the end result meets 3 dimensional criteria:
*1. Distance* - the bottom flat face of the bolt head should be positioned in the 17-18mm range that I mention in the video. Too little and your weight plates will feel very loose in the handle. Too much and you will not be able to turn your dials.
*2. Width* - the bolt head should be no more than 12mm wide (slightly under 1/2"). It needs to slip down between the tabs on the discs as you place your handle into the base and pull it out.
*3. Thickness* - the total height of the bolt from the surface of the weight plate should be no more than 4-4.5mm (slightly under 3/16". So 11/64" is plenty). Too much and you will not be able to turn your dials. Too little (say, 2-3mm) and you risk the plates not being held securely in the handle.
I can't recall if I tested 1/4" bolts back a couple years ago when I made the original tab fix video. Dimensionally, they should work for #2 and 3 above. I'm not sure if they'd work for #1 if centered on the original rivet hole. That's something you'd have to try.
I vaguely recall selecting the larger bolt size for 2 reasons. First, and most importantly, was that its head dimensions satisfied #1. Second, was that I could always grind/trim the head back if needed to satisfy #2 and 3. In this more recent version of the fix, above, I'd definitely recommend the larger bolt since I remove material from all of its faces to clean it up.
Strength-wise, 1/4" bolts would be plenty. In fact, they're all overkill compared to the forces these dumbbells experience. We'd likely destroy other parts of the dumbbell before our DIY bolt tabs would fail.
Would love to hear how your project turns out, especially if you go with 1/4" so that folks know they have other options. Cheers, Joe